Project 0
by KeepCalmAndWatchAnime
Summary: Project 0 occurs once every 100 years. It's an expedition where 3 scientists that aren't from earth visit earth to explore and do research. Naruto is finally part of the "chosen one's" after 400 years of waiting and training. Part 1 of Project 0: Study human life on earth; which means Naruto will have to go to school with the well known, arrogant prodigy, Sasuke Uchiha. SasuNaru AU
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Back at home, people were nicer, sarcasm didn't exist, everyone was shorter, and smiling was as natural as breathing.

Physical contact during disagreements rarely happened unless someone felt like they were in danger and things like food, objects, classes, possessions, professions, job positions, and clothes, had labels. Not people.

So now that I'm on earth, I have to adjust to these weird ways. Not everything I've learned about earth from home has helped me. All I'm able to do with my knowledge so far is answer the questions my teachers ask in class, which is good because school is important and knowing answers builds good relationships with teachers. But making friends, understanding sarcasm, and dealing with rude people…even all the books back at home can't help me do that, and I know for a fact because I memorized every single one page by page.

But here I am, sitting quietly in my first period class, waiting for my teacher to arrive, and listening to the people around me laugh and talk with each other, which is the same exact thing I did yesterday.

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I find it kind of weird that no one wants to talk to me. Yesterday, the teacher introduced me to the class because I'm a new student, and you'd think that would make people want to get to know me, but nope! No one here really seems to care for new people the way my people do back at home and I really really can't understand why! I thought about it for hours yesterday, and I couldn't come up with at least one reason why someone wouldn't want to politely introduce and comfort a person who's been put into a new place that they know nothing about!

"So how do you like it here so far?"

I was startled by the person who decided to turn around and ask me, and I couldn't help but feel nervous because I'd never talked to a student before. And that's kind of sad since you'd think that I would at least meet one student on my first day of school. But like my father says, everything happens for a reason and sometimes even the simplest of things take time.

"It's a nice place", I reply with a smile.

"Where are you from?", she immediately asks afterwards.

I was told that if anyone asked me this question, I had to say the grass village. Lying wasn't something I was used to doing, so when I answered her question, she knew something wasn't right.

"Your accent's kind of...weird", she says as she slightly narrows her ice blue eyes.

"Weird?...Aren't all accents weird?"

She flips her glossy blond ponytail, and laughs a loud, high pitched laugh that causes a few people to look over at us.

_Did I really blow my cover that fast? Is she suspicious of me?_

"What I meant to say is that the way you talk is different from most people I've met there"

I didn't know how to reply to that, but luckily, the teacher walked in before I could come up with a response.

She greeted us, she told us what we'd be learning, and got right to explaining the lesson.

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The way these people learn is odd, but I can follow along with every step.

"Divide this", she'd say.

"Add this", she's say"

"And graph it like this"

It was all so easy that I wanted to fall asleep. The girl sitting next to me who called my accent weird looked ready to take a nap too.

I caught her staring at me, and when our eyes met, she smiled and turned a pretty shade of pink. This usually happens when people are embarrassed or angry. I didn't know why she would be either one of those things, so I let it go and look back to the board.

For a while, I was pretty well focused on the lesson until a pale, feminine hand with highlighter yellow nail polish placed a ripped sheet of lined paper on my desk.

I flipped the paper over and instantly learned her name, the grade she was in, and her phone number.

I couldn't help but smile. She could possibly be the first friend I'll make here. She seemed pretty interested in getting to know me.

On the other side of the paper, I wrote my name and the grade I was in, but not my phone number. Not that I didn't want to give it to her, I just needed to figure out what it was when I got back to my new home.

When the teacher turned around to write on the board, I handed her the paper slyly.

She read it, smiled, and started writing on it again. Only this time, when she passed the note again, the teacher caught her.

"Would you like to read that out loud?", the teacher questions with a smile as she stares at me.

The whole class stared at me, Ino gave me a nervous look, and I probably looked like a startled deer.

"No...why would I do that?", I ask with a confused look. "That's kind of a ridiculous question"

She frowns and crosses her arms. "I don't appreciate your attitude Mr. Uzumaki", she says, her voice quickly losing patience. "I don't want to have to send you to the principles office on your first day"

I'd never seen the principals office before, but I assumed it would be nice to see even more of the school.

"I wouldn't mind going to the office", I reply. "Besides, I could probably read the book you gave me and figure out the lesson a lot faster than you teach it, so it's not like I'd be behind on anything"

I thought that my honest response wouldn't be taken harshly, but the teacher turned red, people began to whisper and chuckle, and for some reason, I felt like the giant in the room.

"Seems like we have a smart ass in the class", she hisses.

"Um...thanks...I guess?"

I didn't know why she called me a smart donkey, but I assumed being called smart anything was better than being called stupid.

"Get out of my classroom, now", she snaps.

And so I got the out. I didn't really know where to go, but I left.

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I waited in the library for my first period class to end, and when the bell rang, I got up to head to my second period class.

I saw Ino in the hallway, who immediately ran up to me nearly stumbling along the way which could have caused her red plaid skirt to fly up and reveal whatever she was (or wasn't) wearing underneath.

"Are you out of your mind?", she nearly yelled.

Out of my mind? How is that even possible.

"No, not that I'm aware of"

She furrows her brow at me.

"You should have seen how mad she was when you left", she says scoldingly.

"I don't understand why she was so 's her deal?"

"I don't know, but I guess this was all my fault anyways. I heard she was a really strict teacher, I shouldn't have even thought about passing notes in her class", she says with guilt in her voice. "And don't be surprised if your second period teacher asks you to go to the principals office"

"Is going to the principals office...bad?", I ask with a nervous smile.

She rolls her eyes, calls me a jackass, tells me to behave myself, and walks off.

Trying not to worry about anything, I shrug, and keep walking to my class. As I walk past a group of kids, I hear one of them say my name, and then a quite a few not so nice things afterwards.

"That kid is a complete moron. Who gets in trouble on their second day of school?"

"He thinks he's so smart too, acting like he can figure the material out for himself...he doesn't look like he's smart enough to"

_Me?! A moron?! That's pretty rude!_

"I'm not a moron!", I say as I turn around and face the group of guys who were much bigger than me.

"And I'll have you know I'm perfectly capable of learning things on my own!"

They look down at me for a few seconds, then look away. One of them looks like he's hiding the urge to laugh. I don't know what's so funny to him, or why he and his friends wouldn't acknowledge me...or why they'd judge me so quickly...or why they looked so damn mean!

"Hey! I'm talking to all of you!", I yell at them.

One of them, the one with the most hostile, grey eyes I'd ever seen in my 1000 years of living, turns around and glares at me.

"We know you're talking to us, but do you know that we don't care to hear your annoying voice?"

My mind went blank. I didn't know what to say to that pale skinned, ghostly looking asshole. Mostly because no one had ever been so disrespectful to me.

"Aw, did we hurt your feelings?", the tannest one of the group asks.

He had the same spiky hair and cold eyes as the silent guy that stood next to him. They nearly looked similar only the quiet one's hair resembled the back of a ducks butt, and wasn't pulled back in a ponytail. He also looked a lot colder than his ponytail wearing friend. But even if this suspiciously quiet jerk were to insult my entire family, I wouldn't dare tell him that his hair reminded me of a birds ass. He seemed like the type of guy who'd kill someone without hesitating.

"Yes!", I snap at them.

They laughed, the bell rang, and before I could even throw an insult at them, they walked away.

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Like Ino warned me, my second period teacher told me I was wanted in the office, so for the next ten minutes I had to wait in a little green chair until the principal was done with whatever he was doing. When I heard my name being called, I turned my attention to the direction I heard it from, and saw a man only a little taller than me with tanner skin and brown hair.

"Come with me"

I followed him into his office, sat down, and waited as he pressed a few buttons on his computer.

"So you're name is Naruto Uzumaki and you're new here?"

"Yup", I say with a smile.

"Don't you think it would be best not to get in trouble after only two days of being here?", he grumbles.

"I'm in trouble?"

"Of course you're in trouble"

This time, he raises his voice.

"You passed notes in class, talked back to the teacher, and made her so mad that she kicked you out"

"But she said she might send me to the office, and that honestly didn't sound too bad to me"

The principal sighed, and put his hands on his desk.

"Listen, you don't look like a troublemaker, and it's only your second day, so I'll let you off with a warning", he says tiredly. "But if I see you in here again, I'm not going to be happy"

He dismissed me, I went back to class, and had to spend the entire forty-five minutes being stared at.

Feels like all people have done since I came here is stare at me...and it hasn't been the good kind of staring.

It makes me feel even more like an alien.

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Third period was boring.

Fourth period was boring.

Fifth period was boring.

And now it's lunch.

Like yesterday, I sat alone, watching everyone else talk to their friends. They laugh, they joke around, and they eat peacefully.

Back when I used to go to school on my planet, no one ever sat alone. Even the quietest people had at least one person to sit with.

I sigh, and wonder if anyone will ever notice me, And thankfully, someone did.

"I've heard a lot about you"

I watch as he sits in the seat across from me with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Um...hi?"

He laughs, but I just stare at him.

"I guess I should introduce myself", he says before puffing out his chest. "Kiba Inuzuka" he says proudly as he holds out his fist"

Assuming he wanted a "fist bump", I take my fist, which is much smaller than his, and crash it into his knuckles. It hurt more than I thought it would.

"You know, a lot of people are talking about you", he adds.

"Yeah, I had a feeling"

"But it's not like they're saying really awful things"

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean a lot of people are wondering why you got those whisker marks tattooed to your face and why you talked back to Anko sensei, but other than that some of the things are positive"

"Oh...uh that's good I guess...but these aren't tattoos", I say as I self consciously touch my cheeks. "They're birthmarks"

"Those are some funny lookin' birthmarks", he says as he leans in closer to inspect them.

I'd never thought of my birthmarks as odd, but I could understand where he was coming from. Everyone else around me didn't have birthmarks on their faces that looked like whiskers.

"Anyway, I thought you might've wanted some company", he continued. "You don't mind do you?"

"No", I say excitedly. "Not at all"

We sit and talk...well...it's mostly him doing the talking. He tells me about which people to avoid, which teachers are the nicest, and which bathrooms are the cleanest. Then he starts pointing to tables around the cafeteria, saying some words that I know have bad meanings.

"School obsessed Honors students, art freaks, regular freaks, socially awkward weirdos, trouble makers, sluts, gross people, and the kids that are so smart, so good looking, and so athletic that your self-esteem could drop just by being next to them.

I can't take my eyes off the last table Kiba mentioned, and when I take a closer look, I understood why.

"Those assholes at that table who weren't being so nice to me today", I say as I point at them.

"Who?", he asks curiously.

"The guy with the long brown hair, and the guy sitting next to the guy with the duck-butt hair"

Kiba laughed at my insult. "It kinda does look like a duck's butt", he agrees. "But according to almost every girl in the school, he's the most attractive guy here"

"Really?", I ask out of surprise. "He looks really...not friendly. How could someone be attracted to someone who has that look on their face all the time?"

"I don't know. Girls are into those dark guys with bad attitudes", he grumbles. "He really is a sour person. He only talks to people in his friend group and he's way too cocky"

_Sour?...has he tasted him before? _

"Who's that pink haired girl that's staring at him all weirdly?", I ask.

"That's Sakura Haruno. She's the smartest girl in the whole school"

"She's...kind of pretty"

"Do yourself a favor and get over whatever it is your feeling towards her. She's been dating Sasuke for two years and she can be a pain in the ass if you talk to her for too long"

"Two years?", I repeat. "That's no big deal"

"To her it is", he says as he rolls his eyes. "And I honestly can't believe that she's still with him. How can the smartest girl in the school be so clueless?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you blind? how can you not see it?"

I take a good look at the two of them.

_She's talking and he's...listening?_

"He doesn't really look like he cares about what she's telling him...that dirt bag", I say spitefully.

"Yup. And that's been going on since they started dating"

I keep looking at them carefully, and I still don't understand why he won't listen to her. She's pretty, and she's smart, and she doesn't look mean like him. What in the world is wrong with him?!

"Does he like her?", I finally ask.

He looks at me like I said something wrong.

"Obviously not", he replies in a tone that makes me wish I'd never asked.

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When lunch was over I walked to my next class. I hoped I would see those guys who were mean to me, so I could give them a piece of my mind, but I couldn't find them. It didn't stop be from looking for them next time the bell rang, I kept my eyes pealed, I paid attention to everyone who walked by me, but I could never find them. When the final bell rang, I decided to forget about it.

After holding my pee in for two periods, I decided to go to the restroom. I went to the nice one that Kiba suggested, the one next to the nurses office by the main entrance, and felt a wave of relief when I walked in and saw a row of shiny urinals.

The bathroom was empty for the most part, but as I began to pull down my pants and do my business, I heard the door open. Whoever walked in must've been really friendly because he took the stall next to me. I felt flattered, like maybe he wanted to get to know me, but then he started to peek into my urinal and I wasn't okay with that at all.

"Excuse me, but can you not invade my privacy?", I ask with a frown so he could understand how mad I was.

He's still peeing, but he looks over at me with a smile. "I was just a little curious", he says innocently. "But as I suspected, there wasn't much to look at anyway"

I didn't know what that meant, because there was actually quite a few things he could be looking at, but the friendly smile he wore on his face told me he meant no harm. There was something about it that was a little suspicious though.

I finished peeing, zipped up my pants, and left without saying anything else because today I'd learned a very important lesson: It's sometimes best to keep my mouth shut and walk away.

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**Like? No like? Let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Just so y'all know I changed the place where Naruto supposedly says he's from. This changes the AU a bit, but it's nothing big. _

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_Dear Ma and Pa,_

_I don't like school here on earth. It's only my second day and I can already tell I'm going to have a very hard time fitting in. Everyone here seems so...unwelcoming. And I got in trouble here already too, but I'm sure you were expecting that to happen! Guess even if you put me on a different planet, I'll still be a troublemaker! The only thing is, I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I swear. The teacher must've been having a bad day or something._

_Anyways, I want to tell you about how weird the people are on earth. They say one thing, but then they mean another! Like today, before the teacher sent me out of the class, she called me a smart ass. If I'm so smart, why'd she kick me out?! _

_And then another time, my new friend (or so I think he is) Kiba called this guy who was picking on me sour. I'm pretty sure he's never actually tasted him though...I think he just meant that he's not nice...maybe sour has two meanings? I'm not sure._

_But if there's one thing I dislike the most about school, it's the guys that call me names. They're rude, and down right cruel, and they called me stupid! And when I tried telling them I'm not they just looked away and kept talking to each other like I wasn't even there! It made me so mad! Can you believe there are actual __people_ _like this?_

_Well, all I know is that if they call me stupid again, I'm calling it war!_

_Sincerely, your son, _

_Naruto_

_p.s _

_Sorry for the short letter, I have a lot of reports to write on human interaction!_

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"Naruto, there's a very pretty lady who wants to meet you!"

I put down my pencil and go downstairs. By the time I'm half way down the steps, I see a woman with skin whiter than polar bear fur and eyes darker than coal. Usually, Jiraiya would tower over people on our planet, but even the women here are a few inches taller than him, and from what I know, women are supposed to be shorter than men. And this woman has got to be the tallest woman I've ever seen since I've gotten here. She's probably about 5 inches taller than Jiraiya.

She greets me with a warm smile, I shake her hand, and she introduces herself.

_She looks an awful lot like someone I've seen in my school..._

"I'm Mikoto Uchiha", she says sweetly. "You can call me Mikoto-chan"

I smile at her hospitality.

_Why can't the people here be more like her?_

"I would usually try and get at least my son to come and visit our new neighbors, but he's...difficult sometimes", she says hesitantly. "He's not very fond of people. My husbands not good with socializing either"

I chuckle nervously. "Oh, it's fine. I'm sure I'll meet him someday"

_She's so pretty...like the girls they put on magazines at the bookstore downtown. _

"Maybe you already know him. Do you go to Konoha Academy?"

"Yeah", I say sounding not as thrilled as she suspected.

"My son is Sasuke Uchiha. You might recognize him if you see him in the halls tomorrow. He looks a lot like me"

_Wait a minute…that boy with the duck-butt hair...he's...he's her son?!_

I try to stay calm, but with all the thoughts running through my head, it's hard to.

_Does she know her son is a complete bastard!? How can someone this nice raise someone so cold? He's so rude that he won't even listen to his girlfriend when she talks to him!_

"Are you okay?", Jiraiya asks as if I'm sick. "You're turning a little red, you usually don't get this flustered, even if you are around good looking women"

"I...um", I sputter nervously.

I look into her worried midnight eyes one last time before scrambling up the stairs like a startled deer to get to my bedroom.

It was a cowardly thing to do, I know, but I'd never been in a situation so uncomfortable and awkward before. It was like I was tempted to say something but I didn't know what to say because there were just too many things to say and too many things that could've gone wrong if I'd said them.

I felt stuck. Really _really_ stuck.

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An hour later, there's a knock on my door. I know it's either Jiraiya orTsunade, but knowing the two of them for so long, it was probably baa-chan if she was back from walking around town doing who-knows-what.

"Hey squirt", she says in her usual playful tone when she tries to get me to listen to her. "Open the door. I just wanna talk to you"

Baa-chan isn't actually that old, but she's getting there. She's almost 2,500 years old, but she looks like she's only a few hundred years older than me. It's amazing, really. I hope when I'm her age I look as good as she does.

"I'm sorry, now is not a good time"

If there's one thing baa-chan doesn't like to hear, it's the word "no". So as I suspected, she violently kicked down my door. She's nice, but impatient and terrifyingly strong. Most people on my planet would view her as "someone with slightly aggressive tendencies " or "a person who you shouldn't upset", but after being on this planet for two days, I can't say she's the worst person I've come into contact with.

"You broke my door", I grumble.

"It's not like you were going to open it for me"

"Because I know what you want to talk to me about"

She sighs, sits on my bed, and puts her arm on my shoulder the way my mother would.

"Listen, what Jiraiya told me when I came home was actually pretty shocking. And since we're so close, nothing anyone tells me about you should surprise me", she says in a serious tone. "But given the situation I think it's time we have the talk"

"About what?"

She sighs, as if she's about to give me the lecture on my life.

"I'm not sure if your parents have talked to you about...puberty, but-"

Before she could even continue, I cut her off.

"Whoa! Are we really going to have this conversation?!", I ask worriedly.

I know what puberty is, and I know now is the age where I'd usually start hitting it, but I'd already learned about this kind of stuff in school on my home planet. I know how babies are made, and I know that I'm going to begin to smell and maybe get a little taller and have a bunch of...urges. So why would I need to have this talk again?

"Fine, I'll get right to the point then. Jiraiya thought you ran upstairs because you were getting an erection"

I gasped at how casually she said it. I'd never imagined having a conversation like this with her. I liked it better when we shared lab reports back at home and talked about all the weird animals and plants that live on this planet. Not this kind of stuff. This kind of stuff I didn't even talk about with close friends.

"He-he...he said that?!", I ask before looking down at my crotch quickly.

"Yes...he did", she says as she begins to blush violently.

"But that's not what was wrong!", I say in defense. "The real reason I was upset was because-"

I close my mouth before finishing.

"Was because?"

She looks at me with a concern I'd never seen before.

"Because she's the mother of this kid at school who's friends with people that aren't...so nice to me"

"Is he mean to you?", she asks growing overprotective. "Because if he is I swear I will-"

"No, he's not mean to me!", I say quickly. "He's just kind of...passive and looks at me like I'm some kind of...germ or something"

She frowns. "Well screw him and his friends", she says with folded arms. "And if he stares at you funny, you stare right back at him!", she adds.

"Thanks, baa-chan", I murmur. "Now can you please leave so I can finish my report?"

She sighs, and slowly gets off my bed. "Just remember", she begins. "You didn't spend most of your life learning the language of these people to make friends. You came here to interact and observe, not to please people or be liked by people. Don't let anyone or anything distract you from your work. Especially since you've been training for this for nearly 500 years"

As lonely as what she said was, she was right. I didn't need friends, and I shouldn't care if I have enemies either. It's not like I'm going to be on earth forever anyway. But my only concern is that I might end up regretting not making any friends here, even if I will eventually have to leave.

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Walking into my first period class felt weird. The teacher watched me as I worked silently with the chunky boy next to me who was explaining a word problem with a mouthful of potato chips. In all honesty, I didn't need him to explain anything to me, and I didn't need to see the mashed up food in his mouth either. Do these earthlings not have manners?

"I appreciate your willingness to explain this to me", I say casually. "But it's not necessary"

"You sure?", he asks nearly spitting some chewed up specks at my face.

"Positive"

I end up finishing all the problems before him and explaining the one's he doesn't understand. A few classmates are watching me, as if I'm the new teacher and they're the students who are willing to learn. Either that, or they're just waiting for me to mess up.

"I never thought of it that way", he says as he looks at the problem with much more ease. "I didn't think you were as good at math as you said you were yesterday, but now that you've showed me a different way to solve these problems, it's become so much easier"

"Yeah Naruto, it's like you're some kind of math wiz", Ino says as she leans over my shoulder and copies my answers.

Luckily, the teacher wasn't watching. She'd clearly given up on keeping her eyes on me since her eyes were now focused on a little blue book with a title that sounded far from interesting.

"Are you sure those are right, Ino?", her partner asks in an untrusting voice. "The way he's teaching him those equations is slightly different from the way the teacher-"

"He's right", a small voice whispers.

I turn to the shy girl who quietly stood up for me. She doesn't make eye contact with anyone, and looks down at her paper as she speaks barely above a whisper.

_She looks a little like that jerk I met yesterday...is she his sister? I sure hope not. She's too nice to have to put up with someone like that._

"I-I did it the teacher's way a-and got the same answer for number eight"

"Well if Hinata says it's right, then it's gotta be right", Chouji agrees. "Way to go uh...Nagato?"

"Naruto", I correct him.

"Sorry, I'm just as bad with names as I am with math", he says with a smile.

I didn't really know what he meant by that, but he was smiling at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. He's the second person to smile at me since I've gotten here, and that's a reason to smile by itself.

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Second period I have Science class with the shy girl from my math class. I didn't even notice we had the same second period together until she sneezed behind me when I walked in. It was a high-pitched, but nearly silent sneeze that reminded me of her voice. Barely noticeable, but recognizable.

We ended up being lab partners, and I decided I might as well try getting to know her. At first, she would turn red and nearly drop a piece of lab equipment every time I asked her a question, like what her favorite subject was or what her name is, but after a while, she got used to me.

"Relax a little bit", I advise her.

I could tell that saying this didn't help much, so I tried getting physical.

"It's okay if the measurement isn't exact", I say as I help her pour the beaker into the mixing glass by holding onto her shaking hand. "Afterall, I'm sure she's not expecting this to be perfect"

She stops shaking, and she finishes pouring the substance into the cup. I gently put my hand on her shoulder, and I feel her stiffen at the touch.

"See, everything's easier when you stay calm"

And then, as if my hand shot lethal poison into her body, she faints. Once again, I'd caused some sort of situation where everyone's eyes end up being on me. But the eyes don't stay on me for long when the teacher rushes over to help the fallen student.

Something tells me that even though all I did was try and be friendly with her, what happened to her is all my fault.

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"Heard you were next to my cousin when she fainted"

I close my locker, and turn around to face the person behind me. "Is she okay?"

_Why is that jerk from yesterday talking to me? I thought he didn't like men or my "annoying" voice!_

"Is she okay?", he asks in a much harsher tone.

"I-I don't know", I say as I look around.

The halls are pretty much empty, and by now, I'm sure we're both late to our next period class.

"She just fainted after she poured something into a mixing glass", I say nervously. "And I swear it wasn't my fault!", I add in defense.

"Keep your voice down", he orders. "There's no reason to be so loud"

I tense up from the icy tone in his voice.

"Did anything happen that might've caused her to faint?"

I think carefully.

"No, she was in my first period class and she was completely fine. Next thing I know, I put my arm on her shoulder and she falls to the floor like she's been hit"

"You touched her?"

There's a feeling of surprise in his voice, and not the good kind. At least that's what I think.

"Yeah, it wasn't anything serious I was just...letting her know she did a good job. Like a um...pat on the back!"

He narrows his eyes at me like I've shrank to the size of a grain of sand, then looks me up and down like I've done something suspicious, and walks away without even saying good-bye.

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On the short walk from school to my house, I can't help but feel like I'm being followed. I look behind me about fifteen times just to make sure I'm not being stalked on my way home, but each time I turn around, no one's there.

_Maybe I'm just a little paranoid. There are so many busy people in this big village, why would anyone take interest in stalking me?_

I decided after a few more minutes of walking that no one was following me, and as the sun began to set, I couldn't help but want to sit on edge of the boardwalk next to whoever it was at the end of it. After the day I'd had, I just wanted to put my feet in the water and watch the sun set. And so, I headed off to the little wooden walkway.

As I approach closer to the end of the boardwalk, the person sitting at the tip of it turns around and faces me with an annoyed look. That's when I realize, the annoyed, grumpy looking person at the edge on the boardwalk is none other than Sasuke Uchiha. And at this moment, I can't even form words. All I can do is stare at him.

Eventually he turns away and looks back at the lake. "What are you doing here?", he asks.

His voice is deep and bone chilling just like the guy with the grey eyes who came to my locker today. Only Sasuke's voice is much more intimidating.

"I just wanted to look at the sunset", I say quietly. "I have the same right to be here as you do"

He snorts. "Get lost"

I don't know why he'd want me to "get lost", but in a village this big, it wouldn't be that hard.

"Why?", I ask as I step closer to the spot where he's sitting.

"What part of get lost do you not understand?", he asks with anger in his voice.

"I don't want to get lost I want to sit and watch the sunset", I say growing impatient. "And incase you weren't aware, I'm your neighbor, which means I'll be seeing you a lot, so we might as well get along"

"Don't even think about sitting next to me", he snaps. "I spend most of my school day sitting next to idiots, I don't want to spend the end of my day like that too"

It took me a minute to understand what idiot he was talking about and where he was, but then I realized that idiot was me.

"Are you calling me an idiot?!", I yell.

"Yes, and I'm not surprised it took you that long to figure it out", he says boredly. "I guess it's true what they say about people from Kusagakure. They really are the dumbest out of all the villages"

Without even thinking of the consequences I run over to the edge of the dock and push him in. There's a small splash from the impact, and I try to regain my balance, since I nearly fell off the edge trying to push him in the lake. Unfortunately, I'm not so lucky, and I quickly fall in after him. When he's done coughing and trying to catch his breath, I'm not surprised by what happens next.

"What the hell is your problem?!", he yells as he lunges towards me, using all his weight to push me under the water.

After fighting him to keep my head above water until the sky is close to midnight blue, he finally gives up.

"Are you crazy?!"

"I ought to ask you the same thing!", he snapped.

For what felt like a while, we stood in the lake silently.

"I'm sorry", I finally say.

Still, he doesn't respond. All I can hear is the sound of the water.

"It's getting dark", I comment quietly.

"Thanks for pointing that out. I had no idea"

I can't tell if he's actually thanking me, or if he really had no clue that it was getting pretty dark, but I figured it would be best to be kind to him to prevent him from attacking me again.

"You're welcome", I say kindly. "But I can't believe you didn't notice how dark it is"

"Do you not understand sarcasm?", he asks.

"What's sarcasm?"

He groans at my question. "Your stupidity might kill you one day"

"And your icy heart might freeze up the whole damn lake but here I am, just trying to be nice to you while you insult me!"

I wasn't sure why I'd said that, but a scientist once told me that the worst thing anyone on earth could have is a "cold heart". I didn't know how a heart could be "cold", or better yet, freeze an entire lake, but I certainly didn't care at a time like this.

Again, there's a silence.

"I'm going to go home", he replies.

I can barely see him now, but I could hear the sound of the water swishing, so I knew he was moving away from me.

"And when I see you in school tomorrow, I'm going to make sure you pay for this"

"_But I'm broke_", is what I wanted to say, but then I remembered: sometimes it's best to not say anything at all.


	3. Chapter 3

"You did what to Sasuke Uchiha?", Ino whispers too loudly for my liking.

"I don't know what to do! He wants me to pay him back but I'm flat out broke!"

She lets out a moan and tilts her head back a bit with her hands on her back like an old woman.

"I've only known you for two days and you're already becoming a handful. Do you always get yourself into trouble like this?"

I don't reply to her question.

"I'll take that as a yes"

I sigh while waiting for her to come up with some type of solution to my problem.

"I got nothin". she finally says.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't help you, that's what I mean!", she snaps impatiently.

I frown at her, and I can tell she feels guilty for yelling.

"Listen, I know Sasuke can be real cruel and all, and trust me, I've known him since I could barely count to one hundred", she begins. "But the best advice I can give to you right now is to keep your eyes peeled and ignore that rude bastard"

"But Ino, I'm actually _scared_", I whisper as a group of nosey students walk by. "He lives in the house next to me"

"Whoa, you live in a house?"

Well where else would I live? In a dumpster?

"Yeah?", I reply confused.

"Then how do you not have money?", she says with wide eyes. "I'd kill to move out of the cramped up, crummy apartment I share with my family. A lot of people from this school would"

"So most people here live in bad areas?", I ask.

She shakes her head. "Not all of the people. This school is actually pretty diverse when it comes to where people live", she explains.

"The people who live in houses are usually upper-middle class or rich, and the people who live in the center of the village, the one's that live in tight little apartments like me, are either low class or middle class."

"Ooooh", I say as I begin to see the picture.

"But despite the shitty apartment I live in, I live on the safer side of town", she begins. "Sure, there's the occasional robbery or drunk man who tries to start fights on the streets after rush hour, but that's it"

"Rush hour?", I ask.

"It happens in big villages like Konoha", she explains. "It's the time when everyone is trying to get home from work. The streets are so clogged that you can tell who showers and who doesn't"

I crinkle my nose at the thought of walking through a stuffy passageway while being surrounded by smelly people.

"I've never been to the center of the village", I confess. "But I've been wondering what it looks like since I've gotten here"

She snorts. "To travelers, it's a cute little urban area where you can gamble, have good ramen or barbeque, buy silly trinkets, and maybe even find a hooker to satisfy your needs if you're out past ten o'clock", she says after rolling her eyes. "But to the people who live on the bad side of town, and even the decent side, it's crowded and underdeveloped. Not like the travelers would notice that though cause they go back to their fancy hotels on the outskirts of the center when it gets too dark outside"

"Wow", I say at the newfound information. "I never would've thought of the place being like that. Why would people come to visit if it's underdeveloped?

"It's 'old fashioned architecture' as some would say, and I guess you could say they're right about that. What most people won't admit is that it looked much better ten years ago. Travelers don't come by as often as they used to because of that", she begins. "Konoha is like most villages in that way. We'd probably have the money to improve our buildings if our government stopped putting money towards village attractions and this stupid upscale school we go to"

"But isn't it good to put money towards our education?"

"Yeah", she agrees. "But there are other schools who need the money more than we do anyway. I don't know why our school budget is as big as it is, but that's a conversation for another day"

"Now that I think about it, this school is pretty well put together", I say as I look around.

_It's even nicer than the schools I went to on my home planet._

"Yeah, that's why we have an entrance exam", she explains. "If we're the best school, we can't take in anybody. That's also why the curriculum on the entrance exam is harder than what you would learn in an average high school"

_I didn't find it to be that hard. I half assed it and still got in...but I have been alive for much longer than the people on this planet. _

"And it doesn't stop there", she continues. "A lot of people drop out or flunk out throughout the year because the classes are harder than what they're used to and move at to fast of a pace. But that's how we weed people out. Passing the entrance exam is just phase one"

_Well that's kind of harsh. _

"Most of the flunkies are low class citizens, so I suggest you not befriend them. They may have made it this far, but like most schools, the work gets harder with each year, and the chances of them dropping out or failing are pretty high"

Ino lowers her voice when "the trouble makers" walk by. "That's why they all stick together", she whispers. "Because they know there's no point in reaching out to the other students if they might not be here for long"

The bell rings, and she smiles after letting out a sigh. "Well that was a conversation I didn't think we'd be having so early in the year", she says. "Let's get to class"

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Again, I end up explaining the lesson to everyone in math class, and I can tell the teacher doesn't like it for some reason.

_I don't know what her deal is. If I'm teaching it better than she is, she should be proud of me, or better yet, be inspired to teach things better! _

"And that's how you get the answer", I finally say as I punch a few things in my calculator and scribble down the answer.

"You're so freakin' good at this!", Chouji says as he begins to copy my work.

"You'd make a pretty good teacher", TenTen adds.

"I never really thought of being one", I say with a nervous laugh. "But I don't think it's my thing anyway"

"You really should consider it", TenTen suggests. "This is so much easier for me now because of you"

"Sometimes it's not that the work is hard to learn", I explain. "It's the person teaching it making it harder to learn"

The class went silent, as if I'd just said I killed somebody. Then, the silence was broken.

"Damn dude, you just insulted her right in front of her face!", Konkuro, the loudest student in the class shouts.

I look over at the teacher, whose skin is now blood red.

"Well it appears that you're a little too advanced for this class, Naruto", the teacher says as she walks over to my desk. "How about I walk you down to the principal's office so you can get placed into a harder one"

Before I can even object, Ino whispers something to me.

"Do it"

I blink at the teacher a few times before getting out of my seat.

"Take your paper with you", she orders. "And if any of you do so much as switch seats while I'm gone, I will give you all a pop quiz tomorrow"

I look down at the paper, pick it up, and walk away with the teacher. I don't even bother to look back.

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"Just can't stay out of trouble can you Uzumaki?", the principal asks.

I feel even more uncomfortable than when Hinata fainted yesterday. Especially since the math teacher is standing behind me while I'm sitting in a chair.

"I don't even know if I am in trouble", I grumble.

"He's not here for causing problems", Anko-sensei replies. "He's here because he thinks my class is too easy, and given the way he's been teaching the others the work and learning it faster than most people, I say we bump him up a class"

"I-I don't think that's necessary though", I panick.

"Well let's check your math grade on the entrance exam", he says as he turns to his computer.

It takes him less than three minutes to find my score.

"According to your grade, you barely passed", he says as he turns to me. "Is there any reason why you're doing so well now?"

I shake my head.

"Show him your class work, Uzumaki", she demands.

I give her an unsure look, but by the way she's glaring down at me, I know I better do as she says.

"Hm", the principal says as he looks over my work. "You even had the nerve to do it in ink"

"Is that not allowed?"

"It's not that it's not allowed, it's that most people make mistakes in math so they usually do it in pencil. But it appears you haven't made a single mistake on any of these problems, unless I learned them the wrong way back when I used to go here"

"They're all right", the teacher adds. "Every single one of them. I don't even have to look at them to know that"

The principal gives me a calculating look, and I lick my lips nervously.

"When you took the exam, did you try your best?", the principal asks.

I stay quiet for a while, but then sigh and give the only answer that would make sense.

"Not really, no"

He shakes his head at me. "Listen", he begins. "We don't tolerate slacking at this school and we don't keep anyone in a class that's too "easy" for them unless they're in the highest level course we have to offer"

My body begins to tense up, and I clench my fists nervously, not knowing what's going to happen next.

"So I'll tell you what", he continues. "Tomorrow, you're going to take the entrance exam again, and if I don't see a better score on even one of the subjects, I'm expelling you"

I don't even flinch.

"For now, you can sit in the waiting room and read this book until class is over"

He hands me a thin book with a very odd title.

"_Konoha Academy's Honor Code_?", I read out loud.

"We mailed this to you along with your acceptance letter. I'm sure you read it during the many days you had left before the school year started"

I narrow my eyes at the book, suddenly remembering when I'd received it, and also remembering how I carelessly tossed it in the trash without even opening it.

"Right", I reply dryly.

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The last period of the day is the hardest period for me. The book we're currently reading in the class is a lot more advanced than I thought it would be. For the most part, I understood the language that these people spoke, I mean, I'd spent 500 years trying to get it down perfectly! But the book doesn't even tell a story! They're just a bunch of little poems on each page and none of them make any sense! On top of that, the teacher is terrifying!

"So what do you think the message of this poem is?"

The class was dead silent, and I couldn't blame them. I've read poems written by five year olds that make more sense than this.

"Come on now class, open your minds", he says growing impatient with us. "There's a reason why we're not having you read some basic story with a beginning, middle, and end"

Still, dead silence. At least until someone's phone rings. That's when the teacher gets even more angry.

"How many times do I have to tell you to turn your phone off in my class, Temari", Orochimaru-sensei hisses.

"Chill out. I'll turn it off now", she snaps.

"I swear you level one students are ridiculous", he complains.

_Level one? What does that mean? _

"This is the easiest english class this school has to offer for your grade and not a single one of you can understand the first page of the book?"

We all begin to look around at each other as if the answer to his question is written on someone's face.

"I don't know how some of you passed the reading comprehension part of your entrance exams", he says as if we're all hopeless.

Okay now he was just being downright insulting! Comprehending a book isn't something that can be taught like math or science. How are we supposed to understand something we can't be taught to understand?

"But no matter, I'll just have another small class like last year", he says with an evil smile. "One by one you'll all start dropping like flies. I say by the end of the semester there will be about four of you left. Heck, one year I only taught two students the second semester and by the fourth quarter they both dropped out of this school. Can't say I miss them though. If they really belonged here they wouldn't have left"

The more he talked the angrier it made me. Not only because he was degrading us, but because he made this place feel less like a school and more like a survival camp.

"You level one kids are all slackers", he says coldly. "You pass your entrance exams and get by in level one classes with C's and B's, even though most of you know you can do better, but you're all just lazy cause you don't want to move up a class. You're the reason why the sand village _public_ schools are higher than us in ranking"

"Are you done flappin' your gums yet?", a blue haired trouble maker asks. "Cause right now, I'd honestly rather read this stupid book than listen to you bitch at us"

I put my head down on my desk, not wanting to see what was going to happen next. Cause it's not the first time this kid has lashed out at the teacher, and it's not the last time that the teacher is going to yell at the top of his lungs and throw things like a maniac.

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I was just as paranoid as I walked home from school today as I was yesterday. Time after time I looked behind me, wondering if Sasuke was going to come after me or if I was just being stalked in general. Turns out I was being stalked. When I cut a corner, I quickly turned back around and yelled to startle whoever was following me.

"Hinata?"

She gave me the same look she gave me yesterday when she was about to faint.

"Please!", I say in a panic. "Don't faint! I just wanted to catch the person following me"

She falls into my arms and I catch her.

_Dammit, this isn't good. _

"A-are y-you mad at me?"

_I couldn't say I was, even though given how paranoid she made me, I should be._

"I'm not mad, but why were you following me? That's kind of weird"

"M-my house is in th-this direction", she says nervously.

"Oh", I say with understanding. "Then why is it that whenever I turned around I couldn't see you? Were you hiding from me?"

"I-I guess you could say that"

_I don't understand her. I make her faint, I frighten her...I don't even know what I'm doing!_

"Do I scare you?"

I sounded a lot more insecure than I wanted to.

"N-no!", she replies.

"Then why do you hide from me and faint around me?"

"I-I just...um…"

She begins to twiddle her thumbs anxiously.

"There he is", a familiar voice says from behind me.

I turn around and I'm face to face with the same kids who insulted me the first day of school.

"What are you doing with _him_, Hinata?"

"N-neji!", she shouts in surprise. "I-I was just walking home with him", she panics.

"Your father wants you to go home _right _after school. So why are you walking him home?"

"She lives near me!", I shout in her defense. "So what's the difference anyways!"

"She lives with _me_", he hisses. "So she doesn't live anywhere near you. Who the hell told you that lie anyway?"

I look over at Hinata whose face is tomato red again.

"You lied to me?", I ask turning in her direction.

"Of course she did. She's obviously interested in you"

"Interested?", I repeat.

"Neji. Shikamaru", Sasuke snaps. "Let's just get this over with. Enough with the small talk"

"Get what over with?", I ask. "I don't have your money, but I really am sorry about yesterday!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it, kid", Shikamaru snorts. "So we're just gonna beat the shit out of you. And if you tell anyone, we'll have you runnin' scared back to that pathetic grass village you came from"

He charges at me with his fist balled up, ready to strike me in the gut, but before his hand even makes it to my stomach, Hinata jumps out in front of me. His arm quickly flinches backward.

"Don't!", she yells. "I don't know w-what he owes your f-for, b-but whatever it is...hurting him won't solve anything!"

Shikamaru sighs and cocks his head over to face Neji and the cold hearted bastard. "I can't hit her"

Sasuke's face fails to show any emotion, and Neji raises his eyebrow slightly. "Why not?"

"Why not?", Shikamaru repeats as if he's insane. "She's a girl! Better yet, your fucking cousin!"

Sasuke's still standing quietly, Hinata's so scared that her knees are shaking, and I watch as the two go back and forth over whether or not they should hit her.

"I'm not going to hit her!"

"Then shove her out of the way!"

"I can't do that either!"

"It's not like you're leaving a mark on her if you do!"

I can tell Sasuke's losing his patience, and it makes me wonder if he's going to retreat.

"Hit her", Sasuke commands as he walks closer to us. "Or I will"

"No way!", I say as I step in front of her. "I'm no-"

My sentence is cut off by a punch to the face. My body hits the ground, nearly knocking Hinata over.

"Naruto!"

I try to get up, but I'm kicked to the ground again. The sensation of dirt filling my mouth makes me want to gag. It's even harder for me to focus on anything now, even the first blow nearly knocked me out.

"Stop it!", she screams.

I hear feet shuffling, and even more screams from Hinata.

"Let me go!", she shouts. "Help!"

One kick. Two kicks. Three more kicks.

"Consider yourself lucky", Shikamaru says. "There's only two of us and we're going easy on you"

I'm sure by noww my whole back is covered in bruises, and I might've cracked a rib or two as well. All I can do is close my eyes and hope that it's all over soon.

"Stay away from the boardwalk, and stay away from me", Sasuke says before delivering a final kick.

I hear something that sounds like a sack of potatoes hitting the ground, and when I hear sobbing, I know that Neji must've either thrown Hinata into the dirt or dropped her.

"Let's go", Sasuke tells his entourage. "Before somebody sees this and starts questioning us"

My body feels paralyzed and I'm still trying to catch my breath. Hot blood pours out of my nostrils, some of it falls to the side of my cheek, but most of it travels over my lips and down my chin.

Hinata's still crying. The sun is ready to say goodnight. And as I lay down on the dirt, miserable and humiliated, I begin to wonder what hurts the most: lying down on the ground in defeat or hearing Hinata cry.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: They start off with a rocky relationship in the beginning, but don't worry guys, it's gonna be a fluffy story with some smut, I promise :)**


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